"Good Cop, Bad Cop"

I'm glad to see some support for Jack Straw across the pond in the face of this latest round of Muslim extortion. Me, I've never cared much for extortion.

We see this extortion racket played out over and over again. Something happens to rile up the "Muslim community." The local Muslim leader, Imam X, may be a bad actor, but he's our guy. He pays lip service to "interfaith dialogue" and whatnot, but he's not really on our side, and he doesn't have our best interests at heart. He's in it for himself, and we all know it. On the other hand, he needs our support to have legitimacy, and his need for our support gives us a certain (though limited) level of influence on his behavior.

We're not particularly thrilled with Imam X, but Imam X assures us that he's the best option we can reasonably expect to get. Imam X has a maniac on a leash, and if anything happens to Imam X, we'll be left to deal with the maniac. Our options are between Imam X and a maniac. Any other leader would be unapologetically acting against our interests. Imam X at least pays lip service to our concerns, and throws us a bone now and then. (Something like the House Republican leadership, but even worse.)

At every turn, Imam X gives us just enough to keep us from completely bailing out on him, but he realizes that the price of our support isn't that high, owing to the fact that we know the alternatives to Imam X are so much worse. We're expected to be grateful for his token efforts, and to happily accept the table scraps he drops to us now and then. In sum, Imam X has us by the "short hairs," and he knows it. He can count on our unwavering support so long as he knows that we're unwilling to plunge his little neighborhood into chaos. Imam X can count on the fact that we're rational actors and his conviction that we'll always accept half a loaf from him in lieu of none. In the short term, capitulation is almost always the rational decision on our part. Accordingly, whatever concerns Imam X may have, the loss of our support isn't high on the list of things that keep him up at night.

Of course, this situation isn't limited to a few Imams in London. From where I sit, the whole lot of self-proclaimed "moderate" Muslim activists, along with our "friends" in the House of Saud and our "friends" running Pakistan, are other examples of "Imam X's" in their respective spheres of influence.

It's just a form of extortion, a variation on the classic "Good Cop, Bad Cop" game and the "protection racket." It's a popular racket, mostly because it works so effectively.

The "moderate" Muslim activists in the West are the most distasteful of the lot, IMHO. At each stage, the game is: "accept this accomodation, or else we'll be replaced by crazies." At each round, the "this" is a little larger piece of flesh than last round. "Censor the Mohammed cartoons, or else." "Get rid of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, or else." "Make the Pope apologize, or else." "Institute Shari'a law, or else." At each step, accomodation is the short-term rational choice.

I wonder: is there a point at which we (the West) are no longer willing to play along with the "Good Cop, Bad Cop" game anymore? Is there a point at which we're willing, in the short term, to be irrational? In other words, is there a point at which we're no longer willing to negotiate over our fundamental principles, even if there is a significant price to pay? Is there a point at which we make our own demands? Is there a point at which we're no longer willing to accept half measures and lukewarm gestures from our supposed "allies?" Is there a point at which we will draw a line beyond which we are unwilling to go, to throw down the gauntlet and invite them to join us as we all descend together into the Hell and chaos that supposedly awaits us?

If there is such a point, where does it lie?

If we can never figure out when we've crossed that point, isn't our subjugation just a question of "when" rather than "if?"

3
Just imagine the world in 30-40 years. As Steyn's new book
argues, it will be America (and maybe Australia) against a muslim
Europe/Africa/Asia, just based on demographics alone. The death
of true Christianity (i.e., actually believe that the only way
into heaven is through Jesus) in Europe, coupled with their impending
social welfare crunches, will only accelarate the demise of Europe.

I don't even think it will end if the Islamic countries implode
economically (like a sudden and violent version of the USSR collapse).
We'll just end up with a Somalia scenario in France.

Posted by: wooga at October 10, 2006 03:21 PM

4
Wooga, Britain will rise against them and there will be civil war. Look at British history and the likelihood of the masses getting pissed off. I'm suprised the masses have been so tolerant for so long.
Muslims will only have to commit one or two more cowardly crimes and it will be all on.

Posted by: Jester at October 10, 2006 03:26 PM

5
Jester, I wish I had the same optimism as you regarding Britain. But judging by the bending over
backwards to accomodate disfunctional islamic behaviro in Britain, I
fear that Britain has gone too far down the multicultural drain to ever
recover.

I can't get links to work:

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=22863only

Posted by: wooga at October 10, 2006 04:20 PM

6
Pirate RagnarThe west plus Israel should've stopped playing that game a long time ago. As far as I'm concerned the line that you're talking about was crossed on 9/11/2001.Best/GM

Posted by: Garduneh Mehr at October 10, 2006 04:41 PM

7
I'm not playing this little game and ensure my elected officials know that, if they want my vote, they had better not play either.

Posted by: MCPO Airdale at October 10, 2006 05:47 PM

8
Wooga, part of what you say is true but muslims are still a small minority of the UK and generally hated in places like Scotland and Wales, were multiculturalism is not as rife. I am optimistic the day will come when they will be severely dealt with in the UK.

Posted by: Jester at October 10, 2006 05:49 PM

9
Jester: What leads you to believe this? I have seen nothing from the
British government that would indicate a turn around.

Posted by: Greyrooster at October 10, 2006 09:44 PM

10
Jester may have a point, but if the British people do rise up, rest
assured that the government will come down on them with unimaginable
force, and will make the "troubles" in Northern Ireland look like a
family quarrell by comparison.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at October 11, 2006 07:07 AM

11
My life's been basically bland , but shrug. I've just been letting everything pass me by recently. I've more or less been doing nothing.